Ohio Criminal Defense Lawyers

Last year police in Columbus shot 19 civilians; eight of which died. This marks the second highest number of police shootings in the past 15 years and the highest rate of mortalities since 1997. The police say the bad guys are more brazen, and community leaders largely agree. [read more...]

With a total county population of just over 365,000, Butler County, Ohio isn’t too densely populated. But within those 365,000 residents, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office monitors about 460 sex offenders on any given day. When you add in juveniles and offenders that come into the county for work, that number jumps to over 700 and while the merits of sex offender monitoring are questionable, the costs are not. [read more...]

Police in Cincinnati had been busy issuing citations to protesters camped out in Piatt Park. The protestors, part of the larger Occupy movement that began on Wall Street, were granted a temporary relief from the ticketing from a federal judge. But the stay was temporary and a small move in a larger federal lawsuit filed against the city on behalf of the protesters. [read more...]

Federal agents will soon be knocking on doors in some of the more violence-prone neighborhoods of Cleveland. They will be asking questions and hoping for willing cooperation in their attempt to assist the city in reducing gun violence. [read more...]

This week, Ohio Governor John Kasich commuted a second death sentence this year. Joseph Murphy, convicted of murdering a 72 year old widow in 1987, was scheduled to die at the hands of the state on October 18. Now he will serve a life sentence with no chance of parole, thanks to the Governor and recommendations by the parole board. [read more...]

So far in 2011, there have been 9 officer involved shootings in Cincinnati. Last year there were only 2. According to Cincinnati.com, this means officers have fired on civilians more this month than all of last year. While the reasons aren’t certain, some suspect young gun owners are less afraid to confront officers than they were in the past. [read more...]

Last weekend an 18 year old high school student was killed when campus police at the University of Cincinnati used Tasers to subdue him. While the actual cause of death may not be known for weeks, UC has since suspended the use of Tasers on campus until more is known. [read more...]

A new policy being implemented by the Cleveland Police is requiring them to either charge a suspect or release them within 36 hours after their arrest. Although some police officers have complained, according to The Plain Dealer, Deputy Chief Timothy Hennessy says “If you have probable cause to arrest, you should have probable cause to charge.” [read more...]

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has been running a series of investigative reports lately on the local police department. These articles have called into question the integrity of the department and have ultimately led to some serious allegations of police brutality, cover ups, and the every present and impenetrable “blue wall of silence.” Now the local department says that changes in policy will be made as a response to these cases, though they may not admit any wrongdoing. [read more...]

Governor John Kasich plans to cut the state’s prison budget and send many inmates back to the county level. While the move would likely save the state some serious money, the counties aren’t completely confident that they could handle the influx of offenders. The state has reassured the counties that it will provide funding, but some remain unconvinced. [read more...]